Logarithms
John Napier: 1550 - 1617
Napier played a key role in the history
of computing.
Besides being a clergyman and
philosopher he was a gifted
mathematician
and in 1614 (not long before his death)
he published his great work of
Logarithms in the book called
"Rabdologia".
This was a remarkable invention since it
enabled to transform
multiplication and division (which were
very complicated tasks at the
time) into simple addition and
subtraction.
His Logarithm tables soon became wide
spread and were used by many
people.
Funnily enough Napier is often
remembered more by another invention of
his nicknamed 'Napier's Bones'.
This was a small instrument constructed
of 10 rods, on which was
engraved the multiplication table. This
simple device enabled to carry
out multiplication in a fast manner
provided one of the numbers was of
one digit only (i.e. 6 X 6742)
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The Slide Rule:
The first Slide Rule appeared in 1650
and was the result of a joint
effort of two Englishmen Edmund Gunter
and the reverend William
Oughtred. This slide rule based on
Napier's logarithms was to become the
first analog computer (of the modern
ages) since multiplication and
subtraction were figured out by physical
distance.
This invention was dormant until 1850
when a French Artillery officer
Amedee Mannheim added the movable double
sided cursor, which gave it
it's appearance as we know it today.
The Slide Rule Home Page
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